Fire evacuees urged to be patient: ‘We have people literally looking for the remains of your neighbors’

(KTLA) – Thousands of wildfire evacuees who want to begin repopulating areas destroyed by the Palisades and Eaton fires were asked to remain patient Monday.

“Repopulation will not occur until all areas are safe,” Los Angeles County Fire Department Chief Anthony Marrone said during a news conference Monday as more than 92,000 people remained under evacuation orders and 89,000 residents are still under evacuation warnings.

“The conversation about repopulation is on all of our minds,” L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna said. “We are hearing our community loud and clear, and we want to get you in there as soon as possible.”

Luna said the repopulation process in Altadena is partly being held up due to the ongoing grid search of neighborhoods.

“It is a very grim task … Every day we’re doing this, we are running across the remains of individual community members,” Luna said. 

The sheriff indicated he expects more remains to be found as the grid search continues and asked for understanding from those who want to go into the area to check on property.

“Please be patient with us … we have people literally looking for the remains of your neighbors,” Luna said.

In addition to repopulation delays due to the search, Luna pointed to potential crime scenes that may need to be protected and other hazards, stating that “the area has not been rendered safe.”

A curfew between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. will remain in effect for the mandatory evacuation areas of both the Palisades Fire-impacted area and the Eation Fire-impacted areas.

The two fires have combined to scorch nearly 40,000 acres and have resulted in at least 24 deaths.